McIlroy facing biggest change of his career as he switches equipment

Rory McIlroy's decision to pursue a lucrative equipment deal was in place long before he grabbed a Nike golf club from Tiger Woods during their exhibition match in China last fall and took a few practice swings. Changing equipment was inevitable. Boy Wonder is simply too big now. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland is no longer just a U.S. Open champion with a massive upside. He fulfilled a big chunk of that potential this year with four wins, including an eight-shot triumph at the PGA Championship and back-to-back victories in the FedExCup playoffs against two of the strongest fields of the year. He easily won the PGA Tour Player of the Year, the PGA of America Player of the Year and the Vardon Trophy, all the awards Woods used to win. McIlroy is a marketing dream, which made him worth too much to stay with Titleist. Acushnet, the parent company of Titleist and FootJoy,...